Triathlons teaching moments for Hanback

August 13, 2006|JACOB SANDOCK Tribune Staff Writer

It is safe to say that D.J. Hanback likes a challenge. How else would you describe someone who feels good about the prospect of swimming, biking and then running a cumulative 40 miles or so in the span of a couple of hours? Such is the life of a triathlete, and the 37-year-old River Park resident -- who has been training for and participating in triathlons for the past 15 years, would have it no other way. "I don't want to say triathlon is my life, I'm married," said Hanback, showing himself to be an adept tactician as well, who won the LaPorte YMCA Triathlon a couple of weeks ago. "But I love it. I love the hard work of it. I work hard with it and I just enjoy it. I always have and it's like a way of life for me." A way of life that not many could endure, to say the least. Hanback, who works out constantly with friends and fellow members of Michiana's Triple Threat Triathlon Team, said that the training for a sport such as this one never ends. "It is really seven days a week," he said. "I don't like taking any days off and I think that almost all triathletes would say the same thing." Hanback would know. As a member of the Triple Threat squad, Hanback said that being part of a community of athletes who share a common goal has been a huge positive for him. Almost all of his good friends, he said, are triathletes who also work out with the team -- comprised of triathletes from South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen and Michigan. "I enjoy the training and I enjoy being with my friends because we all push each other," said Hanback, a teacher for the South Bend Community School Corporation's residential program at Madison Center for Children. "Also, it's good for me (to train) before I go to work. I train and then go in to work and I'm ready for the day. I know these things sound corny, but they are really true, and they work." Hanback, who competes in a wide array of triathlon distances including the short (sprint) courses, the half Ironman distance, international distance and the full Ironman, said that the life of a triathlete is not an easy one. "(Being a triathlete) is a lot to ask of everybody in your life," Hanback said. "You're up early every morning and if you're training for an Ironman you're home late." It takes support from all across the board to be able to succeed, and he has that in his wife, Lisa, and his mother, Bev Bucher, both of whom have been supportive of his athletic aspirations over the years. Even his students at Madison Center are behind him, Hanback has discovered. Last year, Hanback participated in the Wisconsin Ironman event and had one of the roughest outings he has ever had. "I just had a horrendous day," said Hanback of the Wisconsin event. "I was sick all day long, I was just miserable. I struggled to finish. But then when I came back to school, the kids, who watched some of the race on-line and knew what kind of day I had, were very receptive and supportive of me." Which is probably not a surprise considering how supportive Hanback is of his students, many of whom struggle to deal with emotional disabilities. Keeping right on track with the theme of 'never giving up,' the mantra of a true triathlete, Hanback tries to instill this very same theme into the heads of his students as well. "Our job is to get these kids back into public school," said Hanback, a Ball State graduate who is close to finishing up his Master's Degree in Special Education at IUSB. "I was kind of one of those kids in high school, a little bit off-track. I know it sounds cheesy or corny to say this, but I can tell my kids that I was like them when I was younger and that you can go on and get your high school diploma. I'm living proof. I went on to Ball State, I'm getting my Master's. I think it is inspiring for them." It is probably also fairly inspiring for his students to have a teacher like him, who pushes himself harder than 99 out of 100 people in any given room. And not for glory, or medals. But to prove something to himself with every waking hour of every day. Although, even a guy like Hanback will admit that there's nothing wrong with winning. "It's never a bad feeling to win," said Hanback. "But just to finish these races is a huge accomplishment, from the small races to the big races. The LaPorte race was a nice win. I had not been in that race for a long time, about six years. It's always nice to be able to race and still sleep in your own bed." Hanback, who races chiefly in the Midwest region and in the South, will also be representing Indiana in the upcoming Best of the U.S. triathlon in Minnesota. Two triathletes (one male, one female) from each state are chosen to participate in the event and Hanback, a Riley graduate, is thrilled to have been picked to represent his home state. "It really is a big honor and it's going to be kind of neat," said Hanback. No matter the outcome in Minnesota, D.J. Hanback will go on training for his chosen athletic pursuit. With the support of his family and fellow triathletes he will give it all he has, finish to the best of his ability and then come back to town and expect very much the same from his students; students whom someone familiar with quitting might very well give up on... But not Hanback, he does not know the meaning of the word.